Government grants come with a number of requirements and certifications you should be aware of from the beginning.

Government grants create an obligation to keep your financial records in great detail. Be sure your financial people are aware of the requirements. Government audits do occur—by agencies and the IRS—so keep your budgets very realistic.

You will probably have to sign drug-free workplace and employment nondiscrimination statements and certify that you do not supply aid to terrorists. (Some private funders have also started asking for the latter.)

You might have to certify that your office and/or the facility where the project will take place meet the minimum requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA compliance).

You’ll probably be asked for ethnic and other demographic information on your board, staff, and constituents, which you probably won’t have because federal law prohibits you to collect some of it. But they still ask for it. (You can always check “general population” on the application.)